The invention relates to improvements in methods of and in apparatus for processing exposed photographic films which carry or are confined in and/or otherwise associated with containers bearing machine-readable information denoting at least one characteristic (such as the length and/or the type) of film.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,278 (granted Mar. 22, 1988 to Zangenfeind et al. for "Apparatus for transporting cartridges for exposed roll film") discloses an apparatus wherein cartridges containing exposed but still undeveloped roll films are admitted into a downwardly sloping duct for delivery to reel removing and film unwinding stations. Thus, the films (which are convoluted on the cores of reels) are first withdrawn from the respective cartridges together with the reels, and the films are thereupon unwound from the reels so that they can be spliced end-to-end preparatory to introduction of the thus obtained composite film into a developing or other processing machine. The duct of the apparatus which is disclosed by Zangenfeind et al. supports a monitoring or reading device which can read the information (normally a bar code) at the exterior of the shell of each cartridge which is admitted into the duct. The monitoring device generates signals which are used to initiate the retraction of a gate which permits the respective cartridge to descend in the duct if the film in such cartridge is compatible with the previously inserted films, namely when the film can be developed and further processed with films which were withdrawn from the previously monitored cartridges. The bar code on the cartridges can denote whether or not the film in the monitored cartridge is daylight or artificial light film, color film, black-and-white film, etc. If the film in the monitored cartridge is not compatible with the previously treated films, the monitoring device generates a visible, audible or otherwise detectable signal which informs the operator that the cartridge must be withdrawn from the duct. Thus, the monitoring device permits further descent of those cartridges which contain films that can be processed in the developing machine wherein various baths are satisfactory for the development of a selected type of film, e.g., regular color film.
A drawback of conventional apparatus for the processing of exposed but undeveloped customer films which are supplied in cartridges is that they are likely to properly categorize certain problem films, for example, when a film has developed a break at a location such that the length of film which has been unwound from a reel subsequent to removal of the reel from its cartridge accidentally matches a standard length (e.g., twelve, twenty or twentyfour frames). Moreover, manipulation of problem films (e.g., those on reels for torn films) is a time-consuming operation. As a rule, an operator must reach with both hands into a dark room to manually unwind the remnant of a torn film from the reel or to remove the respective reel from the dark room in a specially designed container for transfer into a hanger- or suspension-type developing machine. Reference may be had to commonly owned copending patent application Ser. No. 040,868 filed Apr. 21, 1987 (now Pat. No. 4,799,076) by Zangenfeind et al. for "Apparatus for affording access to exposed but undeveloped films in a dark chamber".